Franklin firm trains businesses, schools to respond to crises

With repeated exposure to harrowing experiences, the average person can learn to make quick, potentially lifesaving decisions amid the chaos and confusion. That’s the guiding principle behind Synergy Solutions.

Experiencing a stressful and fear-inducing situation for the first time, the average person might buckle, curl up in a ball or completely break down. These are perfectly normal reactions, noted Medway Police Sgt. Jason Brennan.

However, with repeated exposure to harrowing experiences, the average person can learn to make quick, potentially lifesaving decisions amid the chaos and confusion, he said.

That’s the guiding principle behind Synergy Solutions, the company Brennan started in 2001 with Franklin Police Detective Christopher Baker. Members of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council’s regional SWAT team, they wanted to create an outlet to share their years of training in crisis management.

The Franklin-based firm works mostly with businesses and school systems on developing response plans that are easy to follow.

"Our feeling with emergency management is that 99 percent of all of these situations are ones we can plan for," Brennan said in a telephone interview last week.

Last month, Synergy led more than 550 employees of the Milford school district through an active-shooter training session.

Teachers and administrators responded to gunshots reverberating through the high school's hallways — blanks fired by a hooded police officer. Depending on the scenario, they had to choose whether to hide, flee or even fight.

"We want to make it so that the first time they hear a gunshot isn’t in a real or dangerous situation," Brennan said. "If you expose people to these harsh simulations, they develop an immunity, as the body would to a disease or a sickness."

Police officers, firefighters and members of the military react seamlessly to high-stress circumstances because they’ve had years of training, Brennan said.

"Although they are afraid," he said, "they’re still able to perform at a really high level because their bodies are use to the stress."

School shootings have prompted districts across the country to rethink their response plans, he said, though law enforcement’s priorities largely remain the same.

"The response is the same as it has been since post Columbine," he said. "Police are going to come to the school and stop the threat immediately – that’s our mission. What we do see changing is schools looking at their policies and procedures."

For example, he said, the "lockdown" strategy is no longer the prevailing one. Synergy, much like the ALICE program, advises adopting a more fluid action plan, one that takes into account several options.

Brennan has found his work with Synergy rewarding, both as a businessman and a first responder.

"It’s been nice to be able to use the experience I’ve gained as a police offer and put it to use training people," he said.

Matt Tota can be reached at 508-634-7521 or mtota@wickedlocal.com. For Franklin and Bellingham news throughout the day, follow him on Twitter @MattTotaMDN.